Brian May and Rick Wakeman coming to Starmus Festival!

I have exciting news from my friend Garik Israelian on the amazing Starmus Festival, a gathering on astronomy, space exploration, cosmology, and music, set to be held in the Canary Islands this September. I’m delighted to say that Astronomy magazine is the festival’s exclusive media partner.

This is going to be one of the biggest events in recent times for astronomy and space enthusiasts. I’ve already blogged about the event, and the speakers who have been announced, including three moonwalkers and five cosmonauts. We also knew that Nobel Prize winners Robert W. Wilson and Sir Harold W. Kroto, the chemist and physicist, and eminent ethologist, zoologist, evolutionary theorist, and scientist Richard Dawkins will be speaking.

Now, there is word that two legends in the music world will be coming to Starmus —Brian May, astrophysicist and guitarist of the rock group Queen, and Rick Wakeman of the rock group Yes.

Here are Garik’s entire press releases, for more details . . .

PRESS RELEASE:

- Legendary musician, writer, and astrophysicist Brian May to speak at the Starmus Festival in Tenerife - Brian May presents “The Universe in Three Dimensions - A History of Stereoscopy in Astronomy” - presented in full 3-D on screen

The Starmus International Festival dedicated to astronomy, space science, art, and music returns to the Abama Golf & Spa resort in Tenerife from September 22 to 27 to address "Beginnings: the making of the modern cosmos." It is a festival that is open to everyone, whether you are a beginner, amateur, or professional.

Brian May, CBE, has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Imperial College, and was chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013. He has also published research articles in the field of the solar zodiacal dust cloud. May is most widely known as lead guitarist and founding member of the legendary rock band Queen. He is an active animal rights advocate and was appointed a vice president of animal welfare charity for the RSPCA in September 2012.

May has had a lifelong interest and passion for stereophotography and 3-D books, and his presentation at Starmus will be in full 3-D on screen, with the audience using 3-D glasses. In 2009, with co-author Elena Vidal, he published his second book, A Village Lost and Found, on the work of English stereophotography innovator T.R Williams. He was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Saxby Medal in 2012 for achievement in the field of three-dimensional imaging.

The founders of the Starmus Festival have worked hard to create another unique event for everyone, at an affordable price of 300 Euros. Please note we have also introduced a special discounted rate of 200 Euros for Canarian residents and students. For more information on the festival please go to our website at www.starmus.com.

Starmus 2014 includes an opening cocktail reception, a three-day conference, an astrophotography and space art exhibition, a live broadcast of a roundtable discussion from the GTC Telescope in La Palma, a "Space Legends" event, and the “Sonic Universe” music concert. There are also optional extras such as a star party in the Teide National Park, a dinner banquet, and excursions to visit the observatories of Tenerife and La Palma.

The event is driven by its developer Garik Israelian, an astrophysicist researcher at Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and a scientific advisory board including Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and guitarist for the legendary rock band Queen, and Alexei Leonov, the legendary Russian cosmonaut who made the first space walk in 1965.

The festival is supported by the Canary Islands Government through PROMOTUR Turismo de Canarias, the Cabildo of Tenerife, the Cabildo of La Palma, International Astronomical Union and IAC.

The official media partners is Astronomy magazine.

Sonic Universe Concert - Rick Wakeman will be performing live on stage in Tenerife at the Starmus Festival!

The Starmus International Festival dedicated to astronomy, space science, art, and music returns to the Abama Golf & Spa resort in Tenerife from September 22 to 27 to address "Beginnings: the making of the modern cosmos." It is a festival that is open to everyone, whether you are a beginner, amateur, or professional.

Rick Wakeman, the legendary keyboard player from the internationally renowned progressive rock band Yes, will be headlining the Sonic Universe Concert at Starmus, which will take place on the last day of the festival. It will be an unusual and innovative concert because he will be merging his unique sounds with actual sounds emitted by celestial bodies.

This music legend is not only known for being a member of Yes, but also for participating in worldwide recordings successes such as Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens, Space Oddity and Life on Mars by David Bowie, and for his collaborations with artists such as Donovan, Cilla Black, Marc Bolan, Black Sabbath, Lou Reed, Mary Hopkins, Dana, Al Stewart, Elton John, and John Williams.

Both as a solo artist and with Yes, he has sold more than 50,000,000 albums. His connection with all things “space” is well known. From the 1990s onwards, much of his music has been sent up into space by NASA, and he has produced two albums relating to space — No Earthly Connection and Out There, with the latter being produced after much help from astronauts and friends at the Kennedy Space Center.

The founders of the Starmus Festival have worked hard to create another unique event for everyone, at an affordable price of 300 Euros. Please note we have also introduced a special discounted rate of 200 Euros for Canarian residents and students. For more information on the festival please go to our website at www.starmus.com.

Starmus 2014 includes an opening cocktail reception, a three-day conference, an astrophotography and space art exhibition, a live broadcast of a roundtable discussion from the GTC Telescope in La Palma, a "Space Legends" event, and the “Sonic Universe” music concert. There are also optional extras such as a star party in the Teide National Park, a dinner banquet, and excursions to visit the observatories of Tenerife and La Palma.

The event is driven by its developer Garik Israelian, an astrophysicist researcher at Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and a scientific advisory board including Brian May, astrophysicist and guitarist for the legendary rock band Queen, and Alexei Leonov, the legendary Russian cosmonaut who made the first space walk in 1965.

The Festival is supported by the Canary Islands Government through PROMOTUR Turismo de Canarias, the Cabildo of Tenerife, the Cabildo of La Palma, International Astronomical Union, and IAC.